Road grader



F. E'. ARNDT ROAD GEADER Filed May 12. 19:58

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 /NVE/VTOR.' FRANKLIN E ARNDT,

ATT'X Jlme 25, 1940. lF. E. ARNDT 2,205,588

ROAD GEADER Filed May l2, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 /y VE/y TOR BY* M11/J" Ml I ATTX FRANKLIN E ARND-l; v

F. E. ARNDT ROAD GEADER Filed May 12, 193s 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 /M/E/VTOR FRANKUN E. ARNm;

ATT'Y E. E. ARNDT 2,205,588

ROAD GEADER Filed May l2, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FRANKLIN E ARNDT,

c BY

Patented June 25, 1940 UNETE STATES gasses PATENT ortica c ROAD GRADER a corporation of Ohio Application May 1,2, 1938, Serial No. 207,561

8 Claims.

This invention relates to a road grader and one of the objects of the invention is to provide la road grader with mechanism such as a moldboard and bank sloper for sloping banks and grading during the same operation, which moldboard and bank sloper can both be adjusted during operation by an operator on the road grader.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a machine of the above type'in which hydraulic means are provided to eifect numerous adjustments of the road grader and particularly to effect adjustments of both the moldboard and the bank sloper during operation.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter, the novel features and combinations being set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a road grader' comprising my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the grader of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective View of a portion of the grader illustrating particularly important features of my invention; and

Fig. 4 is a piping diagram of the hydraulic control system preferably employed for adjusting the various elements of the road grader.

Recent developments have indicated a trend toward providing for adjustment of the moldboard of a road grader into a very high or bank sloping position at one side of the grader frame. Road graders of this type have certain very desirable features, yet at the same time they have certain short-comings particularly in that it is impossible to perform simultaneously the operations of grading and bank sloping while forming a ditch between the berm and sloped bank. The road grader of my invention is extremely flexible' in operation and is easy to operate particularly in that all of the adjustments ofthe road grader can be effected by an operator from a station on the grader' and more particularly the operator can control the road grader to adjust a moldboard and bank sloper while the machine is in operation to meet varying conditions which may be encountered while the machine is simultaneously grading a road berm and forming a ditch and sloping bank.

By reference to the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that the road grader of my invention comprises structure which to some eX- tent follows the disclosure of and is an improvement over, Patentk No. 2,057,089 to Floyd O. De Millar for a Hydraulic road grader. granted October 13, 1936. The road grader of the instant invention comprises a main frame I0 including a pair of spaced apart longitudinally extending channel members II,' II which are rigidly attached together intermediate their ends by cross-tubes I2, I2 and at their front ends by cross-plate means I3. `Adjacent the crossplate means I3 at the front end of the main frame l0 there is provided a front steering wheel assembly I4 'which performs the function of supporting the front of the main frame I0 and actsl to aid the guiding of the4 road grader. 'Extending forwardly from the front wheel assembly I4 is a tongue I5 upon which is mounted a` pair of reversely connected hydraulic piston vmotors I6, I6 the pistons of which are connected to the front Wheel assembly M'to aid in the steering ofthe road grader. The grader as herein disclosed is of the drawn type and will be drawn by a tractor attached to the front end of the tongue I5.v If desired, the invention herein disclosed may also be incorporated in a motor grader.

` It may also be mentioned that a hydraulic piston motor I'I (see Figs. 3 and 4 of the draw.- ings), is mounted upon the front Wheel assembly 'i4 to effect a leaning of the front wheels I8 of the grader. The rear end of the main frame I0 is supported upon a rear wheel assembly I9 which is laterally shiftable With respect to `the main frame I0 by means of a hydraulic piston motor 20, the lrear wheels 2l, 2I of which are also adapted for leaning by virtue of hydraulic piston motor 22. i

Positioned below the main frame I0 and pivotally attached to the front end thereof for universal pivotal movement is a drawbar frame 23 which at its rear end is provided with a lateral shift mechanism 24 which in co-operation with a rack 25 carried by the main frame I0, is adapted to shift the drawbar frame 23 laterally to either side of the main frame I0 under the control of the hydraulic piston motor 20. vThe drawbar frame 23 also carries a circle assembly 21 upon which is mounted a moldboard 28 including a removable blade 29, which moldboard, by virtue of the circle 2l, is adjustable with respect to the drawbar frame 23 about an upright pivotal axis by means of rack and pinion means 3| operable by hand wheel32 adjacent an operato1"splatform 33 and operators seat 34. A circlek latch mechanism operable by handle ,3G adjacent the operators position is provided to maintain the circle in any adjusted position and to release it for adjustment.

The moldboard .28 may be adjusted inelevation andtransverse inclination relative to the roadway by means of mechanism comprising extensible hang rods 31 each comprising a rod 31 having a sliding fit in a tube. The lower ends of the rods 31' are connected by ball and socket joints to the opposite sides of the drawbar frame and the upper ends of the tubes are connected by ball and socket joints to the outer` ends of the crank arms 38, 33 as shown in Figs. l and 2. The rods and tubes have perforations 31 to receive pins for holding the hang rods extended at adjusted lengths.

Reciprocating hydraulic motors are mounted at opposite ends of the rear portion of the vehicle frame with their upper ends connected to the crank arms 40, 40 secured to the rear ends of the longitudinal crank shafts 39, 39, the front ends of which carry the crank arms 38, 38. The crank shafts 36, 39 are journaled on the channel members Il, Il of the main frame Ill, and may be rocked individually by individual operation of the hydraulic motors 4|, 42 to lift or lower and angularly adjust the moldboard to a sloping position transversely of the roadway.

Detachably connected to one end portion of the moldboard 28, as indicated at 5I in Fig. 1, is av cutting blade 5I having such a cutting edge contour as to cut a horizontal surface along the bottom of a ditch at one side of the roadway. By means of the laterally shifting mechanism comprising the hydraulic motor 26, the moldboard may be shifted laterally until the bottom cutting edge 5l" will be located above the ditch bottom. By means of the drawbar adjusting mechanism. comprising the hydraulic motors 4I and 42, that end of the moldboard carrying the cutting blade 5l may be lowered into adjusted position so that that portion of the cutting blade 29 shown in Fig, 1 will travel along the berm of the roadway while the lower cutting edges of the cutting blade 5| will effect the desired slope of the adjacent bank of the ditch.

By means of a pivot bolt 43 an auxiliary cutting blade 52 is pivotally connected to the blade 5| as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The pivot bolt 43 is removable so that the auxiliary cutting blade 52 may be detached when it is desired to operate the machine for ordinary road grading purposes only.

Connected to the front side of the upper outer portion of the bank sloper 52 is an extensible pull rod 44. As shown in Fig. 2 the pull rod 44 is pivotally connected at 44 to the bank sloper blade 52 and at 44" to the front end of one of the side members Il of the main or vehicle frame. The pulling connection 44 preferably comprises a rod telescoping into a tube, the rod and tube being provided with a series of perforations to receive a pin 45 to hold the pulling connection at adjusted length. If desired, the front end of the telescoping connection 44 may be attached to the front end of the drawbar 23 rather than to the front end of the frame lll. The adjustable length of the telescoping connection 44 is adapted to accommodate a wide range of angular positions of adjustment of the moldboard 28 about the upright axis 30. But even after the adjustments are made on the axis 30 and the circle locked in adjusted position relative to the drawbar, the extensible link or pulling connection 44 is also adapted to accommodate a wide range of adjustments of the moldboard effected by the laterally shifting mechanism, and also a wide range of adjustments of the bank sloper blade 52 on its pivot 43 relative to the moldboard 26. It will thus be seen that by removing the pin 45 various adjustments of the moldboard and various adjustments of the bank sloper blade relative to the moldboard may be made after which the pin 45 may be reinserted to hold the connection 44 at adjusted length where it will co-operate with the drawbar in pulling the moldboard and the bank sloper blade 52 while the machine operates during ditch cutting operations.

To provide for the adjustment of the bank sloper blade 52 about the pivot afforded by the bolt 43 while the road grader is in operation, and to effect this with a minimum of effort and without requiring the operator to leave his operating station, I provide a hydraulic piston or reciprocating motor 46, the cylinder of which is attached by a ball and socket joint 49 to a bracket 41 carried by the circle 21, as shown in Fig. 3. The bracket 4l is detachably secured by means of the plate 41' and the bolts 41 to the upper end of one of the depending arms 2l' which extend rearwardly from the circle, as shown in Fig. 2.

The piston rod end of the hydraulic motor 46 is connected by means of a ball and socket joint 48 to the upper end portion of the bank sloper blade 52 at the rear side thereof back of the pivotal connection 44', as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. It will thus be seen that the pivotal connection 49 is located forwardly ol a vertical plane e:-;- tending through the moldboard, the pivot 43 and the bank sloper blade 52, while the pivotal connection 48 is located rearwardly of such ver tical plane. This arrangement locates the motor 46 directly above the pivot 43, affords a Very firm. anchorage at 49 for the rear end of the mctor 46, and facilitates operation of the motor 46 in adjusting the bank sloper blade 52 on its pivot 43. As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the lower end of the blade 52 is located on the front side of the plate 5I, and the latter in turn is mounted on the front side of the moldboard 28. During cperation of the machine the rearward cutting thrusts of the lower portion of the blade 52 are taken by the plate 5i and the moldboard, while the upper portion of the blade 52 is pulled along a ditch bank by the connection 44. The hydraulic motor 46 may have its piston locked in adjusted position and therefore during operation of the machine while no bending strains are exerted on the motor 46, it is very effective in acting as a strut to resist a backward cutting thrust on the blade 52 during cutting operations thereof. The rm anchorage at 49 and the arrangement of the motor 46 as shown in Fig. 2, are therefore desirable not only for efficiently adjusting the blade 52 relative to the moldboard but also to eiiciently co-operate with the pivot 43 in resisting the backward cutting. thrusts during bank sloping operations.

As clearly shown in Fig. 4, the hydraulic piston motor 46 as well as all of the other hydraulic piston motors on the machine, are of the double acting type, and consequently the piston rods may be positively moved in either direction and locked in any adjusted position.

The extensible pulling connection 44 may be replaced by an extensible hydraulic piston motor similar to the motor 46 but of greater length. Such substituted motor may be provided with a control valve at the operators station, and controlled to co-operate with the laterally shifting motor 26 and the adjusting motor 46.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4 of the drawings,

all of the hydraulic piston motors are controlled from a plurality of individually operable control valves H6, lll, |20, H22, |26, Ml, 142 and 146, all of which are mounted upon a manifold 56 supported from the main frame l0 at the operators station, such manifold being for the purpose of reducing the piping connections as illustrated in the patent to De Millar, No. 2,057,086, granted October 13, 1936, for an improvement in Controlling apparatus for uid pressure motors. In other words, all of the control Valves as well as the hand wheel 32 and the handle 36 are preferably located at the operators station or platform 33 adjacent the operators seat 34. It is thus manifest that all of the adjustments of the road grader are under the control of the operator at a single station at all times and that most of said adjustments can be effected While the road grader is in operation and moving along the roadway. That is to say, while the machine is moving along the roadway during ditching operations, the operator at his station may change not only the adjustment of the moldboard to vary the level of the at bottom of the ditch, but such operator during movement of the machine may also at any time effect variation of the inclination of the bank sloper 52 relative to theV moldboard. This is true notwithstanding the restricting tendencies of the pulling connection M because the operator may at any time by pulling on the handle 36 release the latch mechanism 35, thus freeing the circle and moldboard for movement on the upright axis 3d during laterally shifting operations, during adjustments of the transverse inclination of the moldboard, and during angular adjustments of the sloper blade 52 by means of the rnctor L16. During such release of the circle, the pulling connection M holds the moldboard against rotation in a clockwise direction on the axis 3), the tendency of the cutting operations being to move the moldboard in such direction. After the adjustments have been eifected from lthe operators station, during operation of the machine, the handle 36 may be released, whereupon the latch mechanism 35 will automatically re-connect the circle to the drawbar.

In Fig. il the system is shown as including not only the hydraulic piston motors I6, l?, 20, 2E, 26, di, 42 and 66, and the individual control valves therefor H6, lll, |20, 122, Ml, |112 and Hit respectively, but also the proper piping connections between each individual control valve and its hydraulic piston motor or motors. In addition, the hydraulic control system includes a pump 53 which is preferably of such construction that iuid under pressure is supplied to the'pressure line 56 and full pressure in said line 54 is maintained at all times. Ilhe pump 63, however, is so constructed'and arranged that whenever no useful work is being done, that is, when no hydraulic piston motor is being operated to effect an adjustment, the volumetric output of the pump 56 will be reduced to substantially zero by automatically operating eccentric ring adjusting mechanism as explained in the above-mentioned Patent No. 2,057,086. Consequently, in the system shown in Fig. fl, fluid under full pressure will be available at any time for immediate action of any of the hydraulic piston motors for effecting any desired adjustment in the machine.

Furthermore, each of the control valves, such as control valve 46, is so constructed and arranged that in its normal position, to which it automatically returns when the operating handle is released, the associating piston motor, such as motor 46, will be locked in adjusted position.

This is important particularly in connection with the motor 46 so that it can act .as a resisting strut during operation of the bank sloper 52, as," hereinbefore explained.

When the operating lever for the valve |46 is ..5 moved in one direction, the piston motor 46 will be expanded by positive action and when moved in the opposite direction such piston motor will be contracted by positive action. This is dueto the fact that the piston motor 4B is double act- L0 ing, as is each of the other piston motors shown in Fig. 4.

While I have shown the features of my invention in a pull type road grader, they may be embodied in a self-propelled or motor grader. In f the position of adjustment of the moldboard 28 shown in Fig. the machine is adapted to operate to grade the bermatthe side of the traveled road stuface, such as the hard surface of the road, while the plate 5l will be eifectiveto form im the bottom of a ditch, and the bank sloping cutter 52 relied on to properly slope the bank of the ditch at that side thereof remote from the road surface. In this manner, a complete berm. grading, ditch forming, and bank slopingy operaz5 tion will be performed by the road grader whether of the pull type or self-propelled type.

Should the operator desire to change the slope of the berm or the slope of the opposite side of` the ditch, he may eifect such operation without 1.30 leaving his station because from such station he may control any of the hydraulic piston motors. The motors ti and 6E may be operated to adjust the slope of 'the moldboard 26 and to lift .and lower it with respect to the main frame Maand the hydraulic piston motor "56` may be operated to adjust the bank sloper blade 52 relative to the moldboard, Itis also evident that lateraladjustment of the meldboard 26 together with the bank sloper blade 52 as a unit, may be effected bylaw means of the adjusting hydraulic piston motor 26 and the mechanism connected between the same and the rear end of the drawbar. This is particularly true if a hydraulic motor is substituted for the pulling connection 44, but even with s45 the latter in place, as shown in Fig. 2, the release oi' the circle will prevent the pulling connection lil from interfering with the adjusting operations, and after the operations have been made the circle may be automatically relocked to the drawbar.

The hydraulic steering mechanism shown at lll, lf3 in Figs. l and 2 is described and claimed in my co-pending application Serial No. 18,409, led April 26, 19,35, for an improvement in Road' graders, as a division of my co-pending applicac55 tion Serial No. 654,901, led February 2, 1933, for an improvement in Road graders. In my co-pending application Serial No. 654,901 I have described and claimed the mechanism for adjusting the moldboard in elevation and transversefo inclination, such mechanism including the hydraulic reciprocating motors dl, l2 and the laterally shifting mechanism comprising the hydraulic motor 2t, the claims in the instant application being directed to improvements and additions not disclosed in either Serial No. 18,409 or Serial No. 654,901.

Obviously those skilled in vthe art may make various changes in the details and arrangement of parts without departing from. the spirit yande' scope of the invention as dened'by the claims hereto appended, and I therefore wish not'tobe restricted tothe preciseconstruction herein disclosed. l

Having thus described and shown an embodi-fm ment of my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a road grader, the combination with a main frame, o a drawbar attached to said frame, a circle mechanism carried by said drawbar, a moldboard carried by said circle mechanism and adjustable with respect to said drawbar, a bank sloper attached to said moldboard for adjustment relative thereto, power operated means for adjusting said moldboard relative to said frame, and power operated means extending between said circle mechanism and said bank sloper for adjusting said bank sloper relative to said moldboard, both of said power operated means being operable from a single operators station.

2. In a road grader, the combination with a main frame, of a drawbar frame mounted on said main frame for adjustment relative thereto, a circle mechanism adjustably mounted on said drawbar frame for adjustment about an upright axis, a moldboard carried by said circle mechanism, a bank-sloping cutting blade pivotally connected to said moldboard to occupy a position in angular rela-tion thereto, a fluid-pressure reciprocating motor having one end pivotally connected to said circle mechanism and its other end pivotally connected to the outer end portion of said bank-sloping cutting blade, means for effecting adjustment of said drawbar frame relative to said main frame to adjust the inclination of the mold-board transversely of the path of travel of the machine, and means for effecting the operation of said fluid-pressure reciprocating motor to adjust the bank-sloping cutting blade relative to the moldboard independently of the adjustment of the latter relative to said main frame.

3. In a road grader, the combination with a vehicle frame, of a drawbar flexibly connected at its front end to the front end of said vehicle frame, a circle mounted on the rear end of said drawbar for adjustment relative thereto on an upright axis, a grading blade carried by said circle to move therewith on said upright axis, an auxiliary blade pivotally connected to one end of said grading blade to extend outwardly therefrom at an angle relative thereto, a double acting locking hydraulic reciprocating motor pivotally connected at one end to said circle and at its other end to the outer end portion of said auxiliary blade, means on said frame and connected to opposite sides of the rear end portion of said drawbar to adjust the grading blade to incline downwardly into a ditch at that end thereof carrying the auxiliary blade, means for controlling said hydraulic motor individually to adjust the inclination of the auxiliary blade relatively to the grader blade to slope upwardly from the bottom of the ditch, an extensible pull rod pivotally connected at its iront end to said frame and at its rear end to the outel end portion of said auxiliary blade, and releasable mechanism for locking the circle in adjusted position relative to said drawbar, the construction and arrangement being such that during the operation of the machine to cut the opposite bank of the ditch the pull rod co-operates with the drawbar in pulling the blades along the ditch and the hydraulic motor remains locked at adjusted length to serve as a rigid link to rigidly hold the auxiliary blade at its adjusted angle relative to the grading blade.

4. A road grader comprising the combination with a grader blade, of an auxiliary cutting blade pivoted thereto in angular relation therewith,

circle mechanism for supporting said grader blade, a iiuid pressure motor having one end pivoted to said circle mechanism on one side of a vertical plane extending through the moldboard and said pivot and having its other end pivoted to the rear side of the outer end portion of said auxiliary blade onthe other side of such vertical plane, and means for controlling the operation of said motor to eiect adjustment of said auxiliary blade on its pivot relative to said grader blade.

5. In a road grader, the combination with a main frame, of a supplemental frame, a moldboard, mechanism comprising a depending arm for supporting said moldboard from said auxiliary frame, a fluid pressure motor, an auxiliary cutting blade pivoted to said moldboard, and means connecting one end of said motor to said auxiliary blade and the other end thereof to the upper end of said arm adjacent the rear end of said supplemental frame.

6. A road grading machine comprising the combination with a drawbar, of a moldboard, mechanism comprising a depending arm for suspending said moldboard from the rear end of said drawbar, an auxiliary cutting blade pivotally connected to one end of said moldboard to occupy an upwardly sloping angular position relative to the moldboard, a hydraulic reciprocating motor,

a supporting bracket detachably secured to the l upper end of said `arm adjacent the rear end of said drawbar, a pivotal connection between said motor and said bracket, a pivotal connection between said motor and said auxiliary blade, and means for controlling said motor to eiect adjustment of said auxiliary blade on its pivot relative to said moldboard.

'7. In a road grader, the combination with a main frame, of a drawbar frame attached thereto for adjustment, a circle mechanism mounted on the rear end of said drawbar frame for adjustment about an upright axis relative to said drawbar frame, a moldboard mounted on said circle mechanism, an auxiliary blade pivotally mounted at one end of said moldboard, a hydraulic iluid motor of the double acting type attached at reverse ends to the outer end of said auxiliary blade and to said circle mechanism, respectively, for adjusting said auxiliary blade relative to said moldboard and locking it in adjusted position, mechanism operable from a station on said main frame for adjusting said hydraulic motor to adjust said auxiliary blade as aforesaid, and mechanism operable from said station for adjusting the moldboard, auxiliary blade, circle mechanism and rear end of the drawbar as a unit with respect to said main frame.

8. In a road grader, the combination with a main frame having an operators station thereon, of a drawbar frame pivoted to the front of said main frame, an adjustable circle mechanism carried by the rear end of said drawbar frame, a moldboard attached to said circle mechanism, a bank sloping blade attached to said moldboard for adjustment, power mechanism extending between said circle mechanism and said bank sloping blade to adjust it relative to said moldboard, control means for said power mechanism operable from said operators station, and means operable from said operators station for adjusting said drawbar, circle mechanism, moldboard, and bank sloping blade as a unit while said machine is in operation.

FRANKLIN E. ARNDT. 

